Increase in Sexual Assaults
You’re in the club with the squad, probably sipping a VK (don’t deny it, they’re everyone’s guilty pleasure), and dancing to some pop song you’re surprised you know all the lyrics to. Suddenly, you feel someone grinding up against you and turn around to see some random guy gawking at you, and it’s normally a man who looks like he should be at home putting the kids to bed. So, you try to laugh it off but he doesn’t get the message and you’re stuck trying to tell him to get lost. But sometimes they just don’t understand and keep on bothering you, so you play along and kiss them back so you know they will leave because they got their prize.
How many times has that happened to you? I can’t even count how many times this has happened to me. Just two weeks ago a guy was harassing my friend and grabbing her bum, while we were dancing. We told him to stop but every five minutes he came back, so we told the bouncer and he finally backed off. I wish that was the end of it but later when we went outside, I felt my skirt lift up and a hand on my bum. I whipped around holding my skirt down, absolutely mortified to see it was the same guy from earlier. So, I gave him a hard slap that left a very nice red mark. But after that incident, I just felt embarrassed, so we left and went home.
Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behaviour that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient, in which a person is coerced or forced to engage against their will, or a non-consensual sexual touching of a person. It has almost become typical that on a night out a stranger will feel me up, there is no excuse for this but it continues to happen. It’s gotten to the point now that I don’t like going out, unless I am with my best friend (who is a guy) because I feel safe, and it’s less likely that men will come up to me. If you think about this, I bet you agree, it’s safer to go out in a big group of men and girls rather than four girls. It’s sad that this has become a fact of a girl’s life.
Unfortunately, a report last year found that female students are at higher risk of sexual violence than the general female, and the figures are increasing. This isn’t something that is going to change over-night, but you still want to go out and have a good time, so these are some of my essential tips when going out:
- Always make sure your phone has 100% battery: never go out with less than 50%
- Never separate from your friends, maybe wander in the club but don’t leave the club alone
- Try not to walk back alone, and if you are, phone someone so they know where you are.
From more information on sexual violence, please refer to the link below:
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